


One Descendant Amongst Many

by Hollenka99



Series: TLoJJ-Verse [3]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Afterlife, Birthday, Family, Gen, People Watching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 05:20:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17698421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollenka99/pseuds/Hollenka99
Summary: Sean is just one descendant out of dozens. With one video, he proves why he should be noticed. Jameson decides to visit to wish him a happy birthday.





	One Descendant Amongst Many

Jameson dies a grandfather. 38 days earlier, Anthony shows him the photograph of two newborns, his grandson and granddaughter. Both father and son wish he could meet the infants but it was never meant to be.

He blocks all view of his family for a short while, focusing on reuniting with those he's bid farewell to previously. He can't see his loved ones missing him. He saw enough of the premature grief when he was alive.

The two grandchildren grow and are joined by cousins and half-siblings. One little girl knows her father as well as Nora knew him. That is to say, barely. He scolds Henry, only 24 goddammit and with so much potential to be a great doctor, about leaving her behind. He's angrier at Theodore for putting them in that situation.

One son dresses in his Sunday best to be part of a movement in the hopes it will improve the lives of his wife and children. The other guides orchestras at events where the audience wear their best outfits. His eldest daughter creates until she physically can't any longer while the second follows in her father's footsteps. The youngest of them all leads a quieter life than her brothers and sisters in Ireland.

Sophia becomes the first to see him through non-violent means. All his children are grandparents by then. A handful of his grandchildren even have their own. Just three years later, he is failing to suppress a gigantic grin as he signs 'Hello, Angel'. He ignores the passage of time as they catch up after over 50 years apart.

By the time he pays attention, more children have been born. One, arriving in the February of 1990, is a little boy called Sean, the youngest son of Nora's daughter. However, he is also one descendent of many and gets lost in the crowd of distant relatives.

The end of the century and millennium draws near soon after. Jameson Jackson is still a name a good number of people recognise. Many of these people are old enough to recall watching his creations in picture houses. Slowly but surely, he is beginning to fade from living memory. He is okay with this, knowing it would happen one day. Eventually, only the extremely loyal fans will rewatch his movies and introduce him to their children. What's important is that Thaddaeus House for the Disadvantaged remains functional and helps those it is meant to. As soon as he'd conceived the idea of the shelter, he'd known this was the thing he hoped would outlive everything else he'd achieved in his life.

He misses the pivotal moment when a ten year old boy becomes fascinated by his great-grandfather. To the unobservant, it's just a child being shown antique family photographs. In reality, it's the beginning of a lifelong interest. One that finds the boy watching shorts and feature films on some of his loneliest days in the cabin.

Jameson definitely pays attention when Nora's grandson begins searching for parts of his Jolly Gentleman outfit. The original waistcoat and pocket watch are long gone, buried with him. As for the hat, who knows where on earth that ended up. Sean eventually gathers what he needs to replicate the Gentleman in time for October.

The only carved pumpkin visible to the camera is the one with pointed eyes. It's tempting to revert back to memories of Sophia designing the face. She had been so young and proud of her efforts. Sean's got it close to the original. However, you can tell it is the work of an adult and not that of a seven year old girl.

Dear Lord, the acoustics in this room were horrendous. The camera would struggle to properly pick up his voice with these conditions. It's a good thing this video won't have any speech following the introduction.

Oh, the finger waggle. Yes, he remembers doing that countless times over his career. The boy does a fantastic job getting it right. As he must have discovered, it's not so simple. There's a knack to it.

As the video goes on, it's clear Sean is incorporating his own style into the parody. Jameson doesn't mind that. It's staying fairly close to the source material and thus far, is doing it justice. That's all he could ask from Sean.

Okay, he never moved the moustache quite as much as that. Jameson will admit he wiggled it for his children's amusement off-screen many a time. However, in character, he only jiggled his moustache every so often.

No, no, he smiles, Gentlemen don't flail their arms haphazardly in an attempt to 'high-five' their audience. Nor do they encourage others to punch objects, much less buttons. Wherever did this outro originate, he wonders. He'd like to understand where the majority of this energy comes from too.

An odd thing happens after Sean speaks about the video at a convention. There some who will search online for the character but are instead presented with the Wikipedia article about him first. It isn't a massive boost in his popularity but enough people begin to talk about him for Jameson to be dumbfounded. He appreciates the attention. He decides he will pay Sean a visit on his birthday.

Frustratingly, he doesn't perceive time exactly as he used to when he was alive. Months or even a handful of years could elapse before he realised if he wasn't careful. February 2018 doesn't register in his mind. By the time he checks on Sean, it's too late. He finds him in Pennsylvania during April.

In September, he is surprised when Sean visits him. The surprise is more than welcome. Has it really been 86 years already? He brings Siobhan with him. Their great-grandson has a lot to say. They know the majority of what he has to tell them. Jameson listens keenly to the young man regardless.

He is committed to not missing Sean's next birthday. He takes every precaution so he can avoid that outcome. Jameson smiles when Sean returns to Ireland and pays a visit to his old haunts. He is also glad all five children are able to spend Christmas with each other. 20 years, that certainly dwarves the three consecutive Christmases where there was at least one person missing in his own household.

February 2019 comes and with it, Sean's twenty-ninth birthday. When did he turn twenty-nine? That must have been... 1916. Oh right. Yes, he knows exactly what kind of wisdom he wants to impart.

"Treasure any and all friendships you make. You never know when life will throw a curveball, for better or worse. Thank you for the pumpkin carving video. I loved it. You are doing great things. Keep going. Happy birthday, son. I'm sure you'll make 29 as successful as 28."


End file.
